Kenyatta skips Eala opening ceremony

 
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.PHOTO|FILE
 
Nairobi. A standoff among some members of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) threatened to disrupt the official opening of its third sitting yesterday.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta , who was scheduled to open the sitting in Nairobi, stayed away from the function. It is not clear why Mr Kenyatta, who was supposed to address the opening session in his capacity as the current chair of the East African Community Heads of State Summit, skipped the function and instead delegated the role to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Justin Muturi.

However, his absence was linked with the dispute pitting members who want to oust Speaker Margaret Zziwa against those supporting the embattled Ugandan head of the assembly.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame also skipped an Eala sitting in October in Kigali for similar reasons. Some legislators had threatened to impeach the speaker as soon as the sitting was declared open by President Kenyatta.

Ms Zziwa has been embroiled in a tussle with members over a raft of allegations that led to a motion for her removal being moved in April. It has been claimed that she blocked the motion from proceeding to conclusion.

Another motion moved by Kenyan legislator Peter Mathuki was passed on October 30 by 32 out of 44 members and it seeks to pursue the one tabled in April.

Dr Kessy Nderakindo of Tanzania earlier said they would only allow Ms Zziwa to chair the opening session because they expected Mr Kenyatta to open it as the current chair of the EAC Heads of State Summit.

“The only reason we will attend the opening is because we respect the Summit,” said Dr Nderakindo.

“After that we will sit and decide amongst ourselves who will be the speaker since more than two thirds of us have lost confidence in her, which means it is no longer possible to sit down and reason with her,” she said.

Despite Mr Kenyatta’s absence yesterday, Ms Zziwa was allowed to chair the opening session, but legislators have vowed to replace her as the first order of business today.

“The members of the House are in charge of the assembly and we have to take responsibility because allowing her (Ms Zziwa) to hold the seat is an abdication of our duties,” said Mr Peter Mathuki, a member from Kenya.

Article 53 (3) of the EAC Treaty says the speaker can be removed from office by a resolution supported by not less than two thirds of the assembly. Since the speaker’s term is not over yet, the next holder of the seat will also be Ugandan if members succeed in ousting Ms Zziwa.